The Falcon Heavy rose from the same launch pad used by NASA nearly 50 years ago to send men to the moon

By Jon Lockett

6th February 2018, 9:30 pm

Updated: 8th February 2018, 5:45 am

SPACEX'S latest rocket blasted off tonight on its first test flight carrying a red sports car on an endless road trip past Mars.

The Falcon Heavy rose from the same launch pad used by NASA nearly 50 years ago to send men to the moon - accompanied to the sounds of David Bowie's Space Oddity.

Reuters

The Falcon Heavy rose from the same launch pad used by NASA nearly 50 years ago

AFP or licensors

The £60m Heavy is now the most powerful rocket in use today

Universal News & Sport (Europe)

Images show 'Starman' at the wheel of the Tesla sports car above Earth

Universal News & Sport (Europe)

Pictures from the rocket showing a glowing thruster

With liftoff, the £60m Heavy became the most powerful rocket in use today, doubling the liftoff punch of its closest competitor.

The three boosters and 27 engines roared to life at Kennedy Space Center, as thousands jammed surrounding beaches, bridges and roads to watch the rocket soar into space.

Two of the boosters were already recycled and programmed to return for a simultaneous touchdown at Cape Canaveral, while the third, brand new, set its sights on an ocean platform some 300 miles offshore.

SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk owns the rocketing 2008 Tesla Roadster, which is shooting for a solar orbit that will reach all the way to Mars.

Stunning footage of the Tesla Roadster and Starman floating in space after being launched on the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket

Reuters

Two of the boosters were recycled and programmed to return to Earth

AP:Associated Press

The super-powered rocket is carrying a Tesla Roadster sports car

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'Starman' at the controls of the Tesla Roadster

AP:Associated Press

Two booster rockets from the Falcon 9 SpaceX heavy, return for a landing